It’s amazing how quickly this story about the Bank of America acquisition of Merrill is happening. DealBook has some details:
Bank of America is in advanced talks to buy Merrill Lynch for at least $38.25 billion in stock, people briefed on the negotiations said on Sunday, as a means to preserve that investment bank while Lehman Brothers looks likely to collapse.
The move suggests a desperate effort at triage on Wall Street, as Bank of America works to shore up the likely next victim of the credit crunch. A deal, valued at between $25 a share to $30 a share, could be announced as soon as Sunday night, these people said. Merrill shares closed at $17.05 on Friday.
Another commenter brought up a good question – Does this turn BAC into C instead of JPM?
Lots of action on Wall Street today. I’m sure there will a few cocktails served later tonight when the smoke clears.
Ah, genius, aren’t you and the NYT assuming that entire alleged $38.25B goes to the common shareholders?
Assuming a deal happens, dont be shocked if the preferred and sub debt receive BAC stock leaving much less than $25-$30/share for the common….
Great reporting.
Ah, genius, aren’t you and the NYT assuming that entire alleged $38.25B goes to the common shareholders?
Assuming a deal happens, dont be shocked if the preferred and sub debt receive BAC stock leaving much less than $25-$30/share for the common….
Great reporting.
Ah, genius, aren’t you and the NYT assuming that entire alleged $38.25B goes to the common shareholders?
Assuming a deal happens, dont be shocked if the preferred and sub debt receive BAC stock leaving much less than $25-$30/share for the common….
Great reporting.
Any thoughts on what they would do to MER’s employees post deal?
BoA pulls out: http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSWAT01004120080914?feedType=RSS&feedName=innovationNews&rpc=22&sp=true
why is drudge of all places scooping dealbreaker?
$$$
@ 6… they may need to get real jobs…
@7
I pity you.
Glad to see someone named lindsaycampbell is following the DB twitter feed.
nevermind, my reading comprehension is horrible.
$$$
@6
redundancies and mediocrities will get canned, but hopefully smaller numbers than if MER went out LEH style. Thain is doing what Fuld should have when he still had time.
Can someone explain what all these will affect the bond insurers say Ambac and MBIA?
Wall Street employees are in for a further freefall…with BofA scooping up Merrill and Lehman liquidating in chapter 7 (Barclays will probably buy the assets in chapter, and leave behind liabilities)…the redundancies are going to be massive…and the survivors will get doughnuts for bonuses, but feel lucky to have a seat.
@12
You got that right. If you looked closely at the photos published this weekend, Thain looked positively nauseous, knowing he would be in Fuld’s position in less than a weeks time. I sure he proposed that deal first thing Friday night. I give him a great deal of credit for getting the price he got. If they offered $20 bucks and not a penny more, he would have had to take it, knowing MER could have traded below 10 bucks on Monday morning during the liquidation of LEH. He did a righteous job of getting out of a fucking mess. Of course, he’s no longer independent, but he is alive……
But what about #4′s point. Was the Times incorrect attributing the entire $38bn to the common?
the price is not $25 to $30 for the common…
the $38B includes the preferreds..
i would expect the price for the common shares to be around $15…mark it down…
$20 would be outstanding for shareholders…
but BAC stock will fall on this deal because of the fear that they will become like citigroup as they choke on merrill’s bad assets…
so i would expect merrill to trade tomorrow at 20 or less…
i think we will hear more about numbers soon…
BOA/MER merger will be announced before LEH bankruptcy, thats the way to limit the fallout
for those interested, bankofamericamerrilllynch.com is now for sale.
ml is not quite a forced sale but the price seems high.
great deal for b.of.a which ever way you cut it.
ml is not quite a forced sale but the price seems high.
great deal for b.of.a which ever way you cut it.
ml is not quite a forced sale but the price seems high.
great deal for b.of.a which ever way you cut it.
ml is not quite a forced sale but the price seems high.
great deal for b.of.a which ever way you cut it.
were will the stock open?
why would they pay more than the stock is tradeing for? why not let it tank after the leh deal and buy it cheaper
@24
pennies.
more poker from bofa..this is bluff in relation to lehman
What happens to the offer from MER? Does it get rescinded? Do I still join the firm? Would really appreciate some feedback.